Two members of the Israeli embassy staff were killed in a shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. Wednesday.
The FBI is treating the incident as a potential targeted attack, ABC News reports.
Witnesses reported that the suspect, who is in custody, shouted “free, free Palestine” after the shooting.
During a press conference on Thursday morning, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar disclosed the identities of the two embassy staff members who lost their lives in the shooting: Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim.
Sa’ar mentioned that the two were participants at a Jewish event organized by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) when they were tragically shot in what he described as “an appalling terrorist act.”
Police identified Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, as the shooter.
Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith reported that Rodriguez was observed pacing outside the museum prior to opening fire with a handgun on a group of four individuals. He subsequently made his way into the museum, where officers apprehended him.
Rodriguez reportedly pointed out where he discarded the weapon and allegedly suggested that he had committed the killings.
”The suspect identified where he discarded the weapon, and that weapon has been recovered,” Smith said, according to CBS News.
Metropolitan Police stated that initial searches of crime databases revealed no information about the suspect, who was not known to law enforcement.
Police and FBI agents are now examining the suspect’s social media, and seized electronic devices belonging to the suspect, according to a law enforcement source.
BBC News reports that the FBI is currently looking into “ties to potential terrorism or motivation based on a bias-based crime or a hate crime.”
The suspect is expected in court Thursday.
The story is developing. Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo: X / Embassy of Israel to the USA / @IsraelinUSA]
